The present invention generally relates to the field of detecting and measuring marine bioluminescence. Specifically the present invention relates to in situ measurement of marine bioluminescence intensity in the upper surface waters of the oceans.
Marine bioluminescence has been measured both at the surface of the ocean and at depths by various photomultiplier tubes in bathyphotometer assemblies. [See Bityukov, E.P., Rybasov, V.P., and Shayda, V.G., "Annual Changes In The Bioluminescence Field Intensity In The Neritic Zone Of The Black Sea," Oceanology, Vol. 7(6), pp. 848-856, 1967; Gitel'zon I.I., Baklanov, 0.G., Filimov, V.S., Artemkin, A.S., and Shatokhin, V.F., "Bioluminscence As A Hydrooptical And Biological Factor In The Sea," Works Of The Moscow Society of Naturalists, Bioluminescence, Vol. 21 pp. 147-155, 1968; Karabashev, G.S. and Solov'yev, A.N., "Bioluminescence In The Baltic Sea," Oceanology, Vol. 12(5), pp. 776-778, 1972]. Some of the bathyphotometers have also measured bioluminescence in the deep scattering layer at varies times of the day and night. [See Kampa, E.M. and Boden, B.P., "Light Generation In A Sonic-Scattering Layer," Deep Sea Res., Vol. 4, pp 73-92, 1956; Clarke, G.L. and Backus, R.H., "Measurements of Light Penetration In Relation To Vertical Migration And Records of Luminescence of Deep-Sea Animals," Deep-Sea Res., Vol. 4, pp. 1-14, 1956; Boden, B.P., "Observations of Bioluminescence On SOND 1965 Cruise of R.R.S. Discovery," J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K., Vol. 49, pp. 669-682, 1969]. To measure bioluminescence from the ocean surface down to 2,000 meters, Clarke and Kelly deployed active bathyphotometers that stimulated luminescence by pumping seawater past a light bathyphotometer window. [Clarke, G.L., and Kelly, M.G., "Measurements of Diurnal Changes In Bioluminescence From The Sea Surface To 2000 Meters Using A Photometric Device," Limn. and Oceanogr., Vol. 10 (suppl.), pp. R54-66, 1965]. They showed that much of the bioluminescence recorded in the top few hundred meters of the ocean was produced by organisms smaller than 0.24 millimeters in diameter, and that larger organisms were responsible for bioluminescence at greater depths.
Surface water bioluminescence has been measured at in harbors and bays by shipboard and towable like bathyphotometers that either count the frequency of bioluminescent flashes or integrate the intensity of light over short periods. [See Backus, R.H., Yentsch, C.S., and Wing, A., "Bioluminescence In The Surface Waters of The Sea," Nature, Vol. 192, pp. 518-521, 1961; Seliger, H.H., Fastie, W.G., and McElroy, W.D., "Bioluminescence In Chesapeake Bay," Science, Vol. 133, pp. 699-700, 1961; Seliger, H.H., Fastie, W.G., Taylor, W.R., and McElroy, W.D., "Bioluminescence of Marine Dinoflagellates," J. Gen. Physiol., Vol. 45, pp. 1003-1007, 1962; Seliger, H.H. and McElroy, W.D., "Studies At Oyster Bay In Jamaica, West Indies. I. Intensity Patterns of Bioluminescence In A Natural Environment," J. Mar. Res., Vol. 26(3), pp. 244-255, 1968; Carpenter, J.H. and Seliger, H.H., "Studies At Oyster Bay In Jamaica, West Indies. II. Effects of Flow Patterns And Exchange On Bioluminescent Distributions," J. Mar. Res., Vol. 26(3), pp. 256-272, 1968].
More sophisticated on board and submersible photometer systems were developed in the early 1980's at the Naval Ocean Systems Center in San Diego, Calif. [See Losee, J.R. and Lapota, D., "Bioluminescensce Measurements In The Atlantic And Pacific," Bioluminescence: Current Perspectives, edited by Nielson, K.H., Burgess Publishing Company, Minneapolis, Minn., pp. 143-152, 1981; Lapota, D., and Losee, J.R., "Observations of Bioluminescence In Marine Plankton From The Sea of Cortez," J. Exc. Mar. Biol. Ecol., Vol. 77, pp. 209-240, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,331, by Losee, J.R. and Lapota, D., "System For Measuring Bioluminescence Flash Kinetics," Jan. 7, 1986]. For the on board system, seawater was pumped from a depth of 3 meters from a scientific sea chest through a 25 millimeter internal diameter hose and through a viewing chamber. Two RCA 8575 photomultiplier tubes ("PMT's") with an S-20 response, used in the single photon count mode, were symmetrically mounted on opposite side of the 25 milliliter viewing chamber. These PMT's view bioluminescence through quartz windows that is generated by the fluid turbulence effects on light emitting plankton. This system can be used from an underway or station keeping ship. [See Lapota, supra, 1984]. The submersible system employs the same basic approach of pumping seawater past a photomultiplier tube, but further includes a filter wheel disk which can be remotely rotated so that various filters can be inserted between the quartz window and the photomultiplier tube. This detector can only be utilized from a stationary ship and can measure bioluminescence intensity from the ocean surface down to a depth of 100 meters. [See Lapota, supra, 1984]. Other units similar to these are presently being used in survey operations by the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office at Bay St. Louis, Miss. A solid state sensor for measuring stimulated bioluminescence was developed to be used in a tow fish called the Undulating Oceanographic Recorder that recorded temperature as well as chlorophyll fluorescence. [Aiken, J., and Kelly, J., "A Solid State Sensor For Mapping And Profiling Stimulated Bioluminescence In The Marine Environment," Continental Shelf Research, Vol. 79, pp. 1-14, 1984].
A limitation of all of the above detectors is that they require power supplied either by submarine cables or bulky battery packs that must be recharged before each deployment. A further limitation is that the ships deploying these types of instruments must stop on station in order to maintain the proper cable angle between the ship and the instrument.
Therefore, a need exists for a detector which can detect in situ marine bioluminescence and is deployable from a moving ship.